Ice Knight
by pokemon fan 98
Summary: Sometimes being icy, being detached, is exactly what the situation calls for. With the looming threat of Cicada, Team Flash re-exposes Caitlin to dark matter, to bring Frost back. The Frost they find has no memory of them, though, and has her mind set on one thing: stopping Cicada. She runs away, to bring him to justice the only way she thinks she can. Killing him.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I love Caitlin/Killer Frost, and season five is supposed to reveal a lot more information about their backstory. This isn't backstory, but I thought it would be interesting to see how Frost would react to Cicada - a Frost more than willing to kill to get rid of the threat. Please, let me know if you like it.**

"You ready?" Cisco asked.

"You don't have to do this," Barry reminded her.

Caitlin breathed out low. They'd been working on this for weeks, figuring out how to do it just for her. It wasn't right to back down now. "I know. I want to."

"Okay. Turning it on… now."

She felt something around her, in the sealed chamber they'd rigged to re-expose her to dark matter. It didn't hurt. It was just like when the particle accelerator exploded the first time, in that she knew something had happened, but only distantly. _Something…_

She stayed in the chamber until they opened the door, and then she walked out slowly.

"Well?" Barry asked.

"Well what?" Caitlin asked. She was a bit disoriented, if she was honest, though she didn't let it show.

"Is Elsa back?" Cisco asked.

"Oh. I… don't know."

Cisco ran the dark matter scanner over her again. "The dark matter is back inside you. A shot of adrenaline should let us know if it's enough to bring her back."

Caitlin walked to her desk and opened a drawer, where a shot of adrenaline still lay from weeks ago. "You're right," she said, picking it up. She swallowed nervously. "Here goes nothing."

She felt her pulse pick up as the adrenaline rushed through her, and then her awareness faded.

She opened her eyes and looked around.

"Yes," someone said. "Told you it would work."

"Welcome back, KF. Now we can get more _bakin' soda_!"

"Everything okay?" the only girl in the room asked. She seemed concerned.

Frost took a step backwards, assessing. Four people stood staring at her, the others all starting to mirror the girl's concern.

"I can't find anything on Cicada," another man said, walking in. He looked like the girl's father. He stopped and faced her, and then looked back at the others. "What's going on?"

"You know that thing we talked about doing, that you said we shouldn't?" the girl asked.

"Yeah."

"We did it anyway."

"Caitlin, say something," one of the men (this one with long dark hair) said. He'd been watching her the whole time. There was only one thought in her mind, though.

"Cicada?" she asked.

"Our latest crazy meta villain?" he said. "Do you not remember -?"

She started walking out of the room.

"Whoa, where are you going?"

She looked at him, wondering if he would try to stop her. "To find Cicada."

"You can't just go! You're not acting right!"

She turned and thrust her arms down, coating the floor in ice and trapping their feet. Then she ran.

* * *

"What the hell?" Cisco yelled after her. Barry phased through the ice and started freeing the others. "What was that about?"

"Something's not right," Iris said. "She didn't look like she recognized us."

"She recognized Cicada," Barry said grimly.

"Not this again," Joe said.

"If she goes to follow him, I swear," Cisco said, moving towards the door.

"She won't," Iris said. "What reason would she have?"

"I don't know," Cisco said, "but I'm sure as hell not losing her again." He jogged out of the lab, trying to think fast. It seemed like getting her powers back had affected her memory of them. That bugged him, but there was an even greater concern on his mind. If she didn't remember any of them, that proved that parts of her were being blocked, and with the return of her powers and Frost persona… would she even remember that she was Caitlin?

* * *

Cicada.

She knew that name. Something from her past…

She mulled it over as she ran from the people in the lab, exiting the building and slipping into the nearest store. She needed to think of a place to go, but before that, she had to remember Cicada. Why did that name make her slightly scared? Why was it so personal?

She was crouched behind a magazine rack, pretending to inspect the covers, when it dawned on her. Thomas Snow had told her about Cicada once, years ago. He'd said the madman wanted to kill people with powers, so she had to always be on guard. He'd also said Cicada was looking for scientists, to help him figure out how to identify those with powers at a moment's notice.

Shortly after, Thomas Snow had disappeared.

She was intimidated by Cicada, but it was rage that dominated as she stood, looking out the store windows for signs of pursuit. Cicada had something to do with her father's disappearance; she knew it. He was a ruthless killer, starting a new string of murders if he'd drawn attention to himself.

She couldn't wait to kill him.

* * *

Frost didn't know who the people in the lab were, but she had a feeling they would keep searching for her. She needed time to find Cicada, but she couldn't stay here longer than necessary. So after exiting the small store she'd hidden in she made her way to the train station, looking at destinations that weren't too far. She found a promising one and snuck aboard, since she didn't have an ID or money. It was safer that way anyway, in case those people tried tracking her movements.

She stepped onto the platform some time later and looked around. It would definitely be easy to get lost in the crowd here. She smiled to herself as she started walking in search of a computer. Star City would be a great place to avoid detection while she tracked Cicada down.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here we are, with chapter two! I'm very happy people are interested in this story. I've done a lot of stories with Frost, but this one's different, with her going off on her own without memories of the team. Or herself, really. It's fun to write.**

 **One important thing you should know, that was brought up in a review (thank you for the reviews, by the way): I know next to nothing about Arrow or the other DC shows. I used to watch Arrow, through about season three, and then I stopped. I've never seen the others before, aside from the crossover episodes. Flash is the only one I actively watch (it's so good!). I decided to put a chapter or two of this story in Star City because I thought it would be neat. I've never done it before. So please forgive me for not making the actual events of the other shows (mainly Arrow) happen in this story. I just wanted to try to link them briefly, for a few characters...**

 **Now that you know that, please enjoy, and let me know what you think.**

"I checked all the places she usually goes to," Barry said. "I can't find her."

"She doesn't want to be found," Joe said, crossing his arms. "She'll probably find a place to lie low while she thinks of what to do next."

"What do you think that is?" Iris asked.

Cisco didn't want to hear him say it, but he was fearing the same thing. "Finding Cicada."

Iris looked between them. "You really think she's going after him?"

"I don't know," Barry said, looking at the picture of Cicada they'd taped to the board. Cisco stared at it too. They really didn't know much about Cicada, aside from the fact that he was an intelligent murderer. He'd left them two victims so far.

"Cisco, can you do your thing, try to see where she is?" Joe asked.

Cisco kept looking at the board for a few seconds. He'd thought this might come up. "About that…"

He felt all eyes turn to him. "Cisco, what's up?" Barry asked, taking a step closer.

"I'm having trouble vibing. I don't know why, and it's not just Caitlin I can't see. I tried all of you, even knowing you were in the lab." He took a breath. "It didn't work."

"Cisco -," Iris said.

He shook his head as he turned to look at them. "This isn't the time. We need to find Caitlin before she gets herself into trouble."

"Yeah," Joe said immediately. As if Caitlin was the one who got into the most trouble in the group, Cisco thought. They seemed to share that knack for trouble between them, pretty evenly in his opinion. Though Caitlin's did tend to involve Frost, which meant her trouble was a bit more… violent, at times. Definitely extreme.

"What about the satellite?" Ralph said. "We've tracked her with it before."

"I started it, right after she left," Iris said. "There's no trace of her cold energy in the city."

No trace of cold energy in Central City… "She's not in the city," Barry said, as Cisco said "She's not here."

"Let's say she doesn't have her memories. Where would she go?" Ralph asked.

"She knows Cicada's in the city, so she won't have gone far," Barry said. "Probably a few hours at most."

Cisco walked out quickly and grabbed a bag from his desk, stuffing some cash, his tablet, his sweatshirt, and a water bottle into it before going back to the others. "I'm going after her." He was pretty sure they had scared her away before. That was the only reason for her to run, if she really was after Cicada. To buy time while she searched for him.

"But we don't know where she is," Ralph said. "We don't have any leads yet."

"We will once I get to Star City. I'll connect my tablet with our satellite and scan the city for her specific signature."

"I'll go," Barry said. "I can be there and back in no time."

"Barry, Nora's already been waiting for us for a few hours."

"Go talk to your daughter," Cisco said. "I'll go find our girl."

"You want company?" Ralph asked.

"She might go on the offensive again if too many people go after her."

"I'll give you a lift to the train station," Joe said.

Cisco sensed a dad talk coming as he got into the car. He wasn't let down.

"So this thing with your powers," Joe said as he pulled onto the road. His voice was calm and casual. "Is it just vibing people that's out of whack, or everything?"

"It's as if I don't have them anymore," Cisco said. As much as he didn't want to talk about it, it did feel good to tell someone. He'd wanted to tell Caitlin, but she'd been so fixated on finding Frost, he hadn't wanted to add more weight to her shoulders. "Sometimes it feels like they're coming back; so far I haven't been able to control them."

"How long's it been going on?"

"A few weeks," Cisco said, looking out the window.

"Lot of things have happened recently. We haven't really had a break, between baby Jenna and Nora, and Cicada."

"You can say that again."

In the corner of his eye he saw Joe look at him. "Is it possible the stress is affecting your powers?"

He'd thought about that possibility, and though he didn't think it was the real cause of his power troubles, he didn't have any more promising theories. "Maybe."

They reached the train station. "Let us know if you find her," Joe said.

"You got it," Cisco said, unbuckling and picking up his bag from the floor. He paused just before getting out. "Thanks, Joe."

Joe didn't say anything, but Cisco thought he looked a little happier after their talk.

* * *

Cisco looked at the tablet in his hands and refreshed the satellite feature. He was routing it through the S.T.A.R. Labs computer, so it took an extra second for the cold signature to reappear. It hadn't moved since the last time he'd checked. He clicked on the building and identified it as a library, just down the street from where he was. He shoved the tablet in his bag and started walking there with a large stride. Time to get Caitlin back.

"Cisco?"

Cisco turned in front of the library and saw a familiar figure in the streetlight.

"Diggle?"

John Diggle smiled. "I thought that was you."

"You looking for something?" Cisco asked.

"Felicity picked up intense cold signatures on her scanner. Thought it seemed familiar, so I said I'd check it out." Dig raised his eyebrows. "Guess I was right, and that's why you're here. What's Caitlin doing here?"

"It's complicated," Cisco said. "She's confused. I just need to find her and get her home."

"Can't you do your thing and vibe her?"

Cisco lowered his voice, though the street was empty. It made him feel better, anyway. "I've been having a bit of a problem with that part of my powers."

Diggle put a hand on Cisco's shoulder. "It's all good, Cisco. The cold signature was right in this building."

"Let me go in alone," Cisco said.

Diggle looked like he wanted to follow him, but he nodded. Cisco dipped his head in thanks. If he could just talk to Caitlin, maybe he could get her to trust him, or at least go back to Central City with him. Then he could fix whatever he'd done to her.

He walked into the dark building with quiet, careful steps. The row of computers in the library was in the middle of the floor. As he walked in, he could see the light from one of the screens peeking between the shelves. "Caitlin," he called. "I know you're in here."

He didn't hear anything, and kept walking towards the computer. "I just want to help you," he said as he walked into the light from the monitor.

She stood just behind it, looking at him with an icicle already in her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

"You really want to help?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, holding up his hands. "I'll always help you, Caitlin. You know that."

He could see her studying him, and then she dropped the icicle. Relief brought a smile to his face as she walked over to him. Maybe her memory loss hadn't been as bad as he'd thought.

"It's the middle of the night, so there won't be any trains for a few hours," he said. "You picked a great time to do a Google search," he murmured sarcastically.

"Didn't want much company," she said, standing next to him.

"Diggle's outside, we can probably crash with someone from Team Arrow for the ni-." He cut off at the look in her eyes; the flash of fear and mistrust that flared for a fraction of a second, before she could hide it. She might trust Cisco, but she definitely wasn't herself. He didn't want to push her too much. "We'll stay at a hotel," he said in a gentler voice. "Sound good?"

"Sure," she said loftily. Back to typical Frost, apparently. "But you'll have to pay. I don't have money on me."

"You jumped the train, didn't you?" he asked.

She didn't look remorseful. If anything, she seemed cocky. "I needed a ride."

He thought about lecturing her, but decided he was too tired. They'd been through this stuff before, even if she didn't remember it. So he started walking out of the library, pausing only to make sure she was following him. "Hope you don't mind sharing a room."

Diggle was waiting outside. "Caitlin," he greeted.

She just looked at him for a second, and then ignored him.

"Right," he said. "Frost." He looked at Cisco. "You need anything?"

"A hotel for the night."

"You know you can stay with one of us, right?"

"Yeah, but we only need it for a few hours. Just till the first train to Central City."

Diggle nodded. "Okay. I can take you to one near the station."

"Thanks, Dig."

Diggle led them the few blocks to a cheap hotel near the train station, where Cisco grabbed the first room they offered – on the third floor. "That's set. Can you do me one more favor?" Cisco asked Diggle as they stood just inside the hotel lobby.

"Anything."

"Point me to an ATM? I need more cash to get the train tickets tomorrow."

Dig chuckled. "I can do that."

Caitlin yawned. Cisco looked at her and softened his expression. "You did a lot of running today. Let's go to the room, and then I'll go to the ATM. You don't mind waiting two more minutes, right Dig?"

"No, why would I mind that," he said, only half joking. But he had a slight smile on his face, so Cisco knew he was fine with it.

"Be right back."

Caitlin and Cisco hopped onto the elevator and rode to the third floor. "We're gonna laugh about this later," Cisco said to her, quietly. "I can just see your next conversation with Diggle." He smiled to himself. "I'm gonna have to be there."

She didn't say anything, but she did glance at him for a second with a raised brow. From Frost, it was a response he frequently received. He unlocked the room and walked inside after her.

"You gonna tuck me in before you go?" she asked, looking back at him.

That was a no, but he wanted to make sure she was okay. "I'll only be gone a few minutes," he said.

She fell back onto one of the two beds. "Bye."

He shook his head and turned to leave. She was fine. Still, he locked the door before he left. He hadn't even known hotels this old still existed, but this room key wasn't a card; it was a physical key, one per room. It was a pretty run down area. Maybe Dig had found him this place on purpose.

Diggle was waiting exactly where Cisco had left him, and led him to an ATM down the street silently. He waited while Cisco made his withdrawal and then walked with him back to the hotel, though Cisco told him he should go back home. Diggle calmly refused, and even got into the elevator with him. To make sure he didn't have any last-minute problems he needed help with, he said.

"You sure you don't need a hand?"

"I got it, Dig," Cisco said as the elevator opened. "You've helped enough. Thanks."

He looked at the hallway and stopped moving. The carpet and both walls were coated in ice, spreading out from a single point: his room, the door of which was flat against the far wall.

"Doesn't look like you got it," Dig said, holding the elevator door open.

Cisco shook his head mutely, stunned and hurt and feeling like an idiot. Dig stepped out, letting the elevator close behind him.

"I don't know what to do," Cisco said. "She came so easily I thought she remembered me."

Had he really thought that, though? Or had he just convinced himself it was true, to make himself feel better? She'd never even said his name. Nothing personal. She'd just played along with whatever he said.

And he'd left her alone, so she could easily escape again.

Man he was an idiot.

"If you need our help," Dig offered.

Cisco sighed and forced himself out of his stupor. "Thanks, but this is on me. I'll find her on my own."

He had a feeling she would leave Star City, now that she knew Cisco wasn't the only one looking for her. For now, he would head back to Central City. He just had to hope that's where Caitlin was going too.

* * *

Frost walked to the closest library once it was fully dark. She needed access to a computer, and wanted to conduct her search in private. A bit of cold unlocked the front door.

The top results when she searched for "Cicada" were his most recent victims, back in Central City. Two metahumans, both lacking any serious kind of record. Which meant Cicada didn't have a reason for killing them, other than their abilities. She put the search field back further, looking for previous victims. Maybe she could use the locations they were found in and create a perimeter he lived in? There really wasn't much to go on, but she knew the best way to find him was going back to Central City.

"Caitlin. I know you're in here."

Frost stiffened. That was the voice of one of the people at the lab. They shouldn't have been able to find her so quickly.

She cast a final look at the information before closing the webpage and moving to stand behind the computer. She doubted she would have time to hide.

"I just want to help you."

Mistrust made her fashion an icicle, which she held carefully at her side. It seemed like she wasn't holding it very tightly, but she was tense enough to use it in a second. The man appeared in her line of sight in a few more heartbeats. She'd thought it was the one with the long hair, and she was right. He'd seemed the most insistent on finding her as she'd originally left.

She didn't strike immediately, though. She didn't know why he was so determined to keep her close; maybe he knew something about Cicada that she didn't. "You really want to help?" she asked.

He actually raised his hands up as he said "yes." She didn't know what his specialties were, but he didn't seem like much of a threat at the moment. She decided to stick with him for a few minutes, and see if he would reveal anything helpful.

"You picked a great time to do a Google search," he murmured sarcastically.

"Didn't want much company," she said, standing next to him. She still didn't. So when he brought up staying with other people in Star City, she knew she had to get away before that happened. Her first instinct was to play on the man's concern. He acted like he knew her, and wanted to keep her safe. So she brought fear to the surface, just for an instant. Her emotions were never very far from the surface.

He stopped talking right away, and satisfaction made it tempting to smile as he said they would get a hotel. "Sure."

She couldn't believe he was surprised she had jumped the train. If he thought that was bad, he couldn't know her very well; he'd probably faint at hearing the plan she had for Cicada.

Unfortunately, it became clear pretty quickly that he wouldn't be discussing the killer. All his thoughts seemed to be on getting her back to the lab she'd woken up in, for whatever reason. So she slowed her steps, and faked a yawn when he started talking about an ATM. He took the bait, and brought her up to a hotel room.

"You gonna tuck me in?" she asked, when he lingered by the door. It had the intended effect, making him a bit uncomfortable, and he said he'd be back in a few minutes after she laid down on the bed.

He was too trusting. She waited for the lock to turn before jumping to her feet. Fifteen seconds waiting by the door, listening, and then she decided it was safe. She may have broken out of the room a bit more forcefully than necessary, but she didn't have time for subtlety.

He would wait for a morning train. She would steal a car. She saw someone parking theirs, and put some ice on their wrist to persuade them to give her the keys.

She just hoped the man got the hint this time, and left her alone. She didn't particularly want to hurt him, but she would if she had to. No one was going to stop her from killing Cicada.

 **A/N: You thought there was gonna be more of a fight, didn't you? I figured Frost would take any chance to learn more about Cicada, which is why she stayed with Cisco at first. You can see that the re-exposure to dark matter worked as an almost total reset for Caitlin, once she tapped into her powers. Poor, hopeful Cisco for thinking otherwise.**

 **Don't worry. Action is coming. (I just need to write it...) I do have something for you guys to think about, in the meantime. Remember the scene in the Flashtime episode, where Nora met Caitlin and Harry? Nora had a serious, almost dark look on her face after. When she met the others, she seemed fine. It made me think she didn't like Frost, since she interrupted Caitlin and Harry when they were talking about Frost. Why do you think that is? I'd like to know what everyone thinks, because I'm stumped. I'm definitely curious to find out if she does have negative feelings towards Frost. Why else would she have acted so differently in that scene?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here's chapter four! It's a bit longer than usual (you said you wanted each chapter to feel more complete: hopefully this feels that way). Hope you like it!**

Ralph was waiting for Cisco when he got off the train in Central City the next morning. Cisco held a hand up right when he reached him.

"What -?"

"Don't," Cisco said, closing his eyes for a second. "Yes, I found her. I think she's back here now." He started walking towards Ralph's car. "I hate not being able to jump through a breach."

"Did she say anything?" Ralph asked as they started going back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

"I don't think she's trying to join Cicada, if that's what you mean. But I do think she's going after him for something."

"Nora was pre-tty upset that we got Frost back," Ralph said. "Barry and Iris told her what was going on. I guess it got kind of loud."

Cisco hummed acknowledgement, and Ralph let the conversation fade.

They drove the rest of the way to the lab in silence, and Cisco was only partially surprised to see Nora at the lab with everyone else when they arrived.

"Did you get her?" she asked.

"Yes," Cisco said, unable to reign in his sarcasm. "I just left her down in the car."

"What happened?" Barry asked.

Cisco filled them in, a fresh wave of shame flooding through him when he described the ice-covered hallway – and the news report of someone's car being stolen by an ice-wielding metahuman he'd seen at the train station that morning.

"Oh, that's not good," Nora said, standing and starting to pace by the dry erase board.

"At least it's not winter," Cisco said. "It should be easy to find her if she's back in Central City."

"Should being the operative word," Iris said. " _Somebody_ tried to focus the satellite on Cicada and Caitlin at the same time and shorted it out."

Cisco looked between the mother and daughter, just noticing the tension between them. And here he'd thought they were getting along better. "How did it short out? We put it on two different signals last year, but it just taxed the system. It didn't break."

"Add in a speedster's impatience and button mashing," Iris said.

Cisco walked over to the computer, muttering under his breath. It couldn't be as bad as Iris was making it sound. He'd built the system to handle different searching capabilities. When they'd searched for Caitlin and Barry last year it had proven to be too much to do adequately, but it could handle it. That was very important to Cisco. As he pulled up a system report and tried to run diagnostics, though, he realized his precious system really had cracked under pressure. It kept showing a loading screen like he was in the middle of the woods, it was so slow. He hung his head as he leaned over the keyboard, staring at the table. "This is gonna take some time to fix."

"Nora, why did you -?" Barry started.

Nora turned in her pacing. "I'm sorry, okay!" She bit the inside of her lip. "I knew something bad would happen. I just hoped this wouldn't happen so soon."

Cisco looked up. "What do you mean, this?"

She seemed to realize she'd revealed something about the future – something they'd agreed not to discuss. "You guys faced Cicada in the future. You know that. But when I came back here, something changed. I don't know if he's stronger or smarter, but something's different. That must be effecting other things."

Cisco took a step closer to her, aware that his face was completely serious. "You weren't talking about Cicada," he said. "You know something about Caitlin."

"I know something about Frost," Nora said in an undertone, her expression hardening. "She always messes things up."

"Look," Cisco said, just to her. "I know you don't like Frost, for whatever reason. But if you know something that can help us find her -."

"Nothing specific," Nora said.

Cisco studied her and thought she was telling the truth. He didn't know why Nora seemed to hate Frost. And her comment on 'this happening so soon' definitely intrigued him. She wouldn't elaborate, he knew. She'd already revealed more than she meant to. She seemed nice enough to Caitlin; it was just Frost she avoided. He couldn't worry about it now, though. "What were you thinking, before?" he asked, redirecting her back to Cicada. The others stopped pretending they weren't listening in, looking at them.

"Cicada's dangerous," Nora said.

"We know," Barry said. "He's already killed two people."

"Whether you agree or not, Frost is unpredictable at best. She makes this situation more dangerous."

"Maybe we need a little more of that on our side," Iris said.

Cisco couldn't hide the flicker of surprise in his eyes as he looked at her. He kept forgetting that Iris was becoming as close with Frost as any of them.

"I'm not saying we stop looking for her, but maybe she can find him on her own faster than we can here. And then she can let us know so we can stop him together."

"That assumes she remembers us and is on our side," Nora said.

Cisco bristled. "Of course she's on our side."

"Like I said," Nora added quietly, "she's unpredictable at best."

Anger heated Cisco's blood at that. He walked to his desk to get materials and start fixing the satellite, Nora's warning scalding his ears and driving him to prove her wrong.

* * *

Frost spent a few days investigating the old murders. She kept moving, never staying in one place for more than a few hours at a time. She knew the people in the lab were somewhere in this city. If any of them were as intent as the long-haired one about re-capturing her, they stood a good chance here, where she didn't know anything about the layout. She moved quickly, as discreetly as possible, avoiding empty places so she could lose herself in a crowd. Every time she did have to cross a sparse bit of ground she was on high alert. Every flicker of movement was a potential threat. Every corner was a possible ambush, every shadow someone waiting to lunge for her. No one could be trusted. She knew she shouldn't fear the people in the lab, but she couldn't quell the sense that this was their fault. She couldn't remember most of her life. That had to be their doing. What their ultimate goal was, she couldn't guess, but they obviously wanted her for something. She just knew she wouldn't be going back to that lab.

So she played it as safe as she could, thankful it was summer so she could stay outside at night. She visited the crime scenes, looking for a possible connection. It was a few days before she caught a break. Cicada had another victim. Frost hated that he'd killed again, but was partly glad he'd done something. It would help her find him. She was the first one to the scene of the latest victim.

She was walking between the two sites in the early hours of morning when she saw something in the corner of her eye: a flash of light, bright and angular. A few steps in that direction revealed a pair of feet lying on the ground. Frost's adrenaline started pumping as she jogged closer, and she was thankful she was looking up when she reached the body. If she hadn't been, she would have missed the edge of a leg disappearing behind a building.

Frost moved to follow, her pulse drumming out his name. Cicada, Cicada, Cicada. She ran as fast as she could in the narrow spaces, and stopped when she passed the fifth opening from the alleyway. She growled in frustration at the realization that she'd lost him. He could have disappeared in any of the openings.

Instead of trying to look at each opening, Frost went back to the most recent body. It was a middle-age man, with dark skin and thin, worn clothing. She knelt down next to him, careful not to touch him but eager to examine him more closely. There was a singed hole on his chest, exposing his skin. She held her hand over it and felt the heat energy that lingered from the electrical blast. Cicada had definitely done this. Which meant this was a metahuman.

From her inspection, the man was lower class. For the murder to be this fresh, he had to have been in the alleyways already, which suggested that, if he had a home, he didn't stay in it much. She tried to remember the other two victims. One had been a lawyer, the other a stay at home dad. Not much in common there. So how did Cicada identify them?

It was a good twenty minutes sitting there before an idea came to her, and her frustration with herself rose. "He knew them before."

With two victims, anything they had in common could be a coincidence. With three, she could use it to trace Cicada, and maybe learn his identity.

She had to get to a computer again. Of course it was almost full morning, so she would be recognized in an instant if she tried to go to a library… she could nick someone's phone. They wouldn't know it was her then, and most phones were just as capable as computers anyway.

"Don't move," a male voice ordered.

Frost's jaw clenched as she glanced up. A man in a uniform reading CCPD was holding a gun in her direction. She guessed it was his partner standing behind him, their hand hovering over the weapon holstered to their side.

She'd been so good about paying attention and being careful, too, for a few moments of introspection to blow it to hell. She raised her hands up and started to stand.

"I said don't move!" the officer said.

"It's okay," she said, and paused when she was fully upright. "I didn't do this."

"That's Frost," the second officer said. "One of the good guys."

The first officer started to lower his gun, though he still had his arm way too tense for Frost's comfort. Frost took a step closer. They said they knew her to be a good guy? She started to lower her hands as she took another step. "You got here pretty quick."

"That's rich, knowing who you work with."

She almost let her confusion show, but managed to maintain her confident demeanor. She hated not knowing, and the fact that others kept telling her they did? Suffice it to say it made her want to do some damage to the lab she'd woken up in, and… _interrogate_ the people. She could make them talk. But she had to kill Cicada first.

"Why are you here alone?" the first officer asked.

Frost started moving in an instant, thrusting her hand up to point his gun away from her and icing his wrist to make him drop it. The second officer scrambled for his gun, and Frost sent a spear of ice through his shoulder. He dropped to the ground with a scream of pain, and Frost turned her full attention to the first officer in time to dodge a wide punch. She kicked out, her foot connecting with his stomach and sending him back against the wall of a building. Frost walked closer to him.

"Knew you wouldn't be here alone," the officer said. He was brave, she had to give him that. She could see him reaching for something in his pocket, and knelt down next to him.

"You wouldn't be going for a phone, would you?" she asked.

He reacted quickly, his leg sweeping out as his hand reached for her arm. Frost clamped her hand down on the leg, channeling cold even before she had hold of it so that, though she was pushed off balance, she didn't topple over. His hand wrapped around her arm, but the grip loosened as he registered the pain in his leg, and Frost grabbed it and shoved it down with a crack.

She realized from the shock in his pained expression that it had broken, and stood.

And fell heavily against the wall as a much louder crack filled the air, and a bullet tore through her. For a few seconds she couldn't think past the sudden and overwhelming pain in her arm, or the scarlet blood starting to flow from it. Then she reacted instinctively, turning to the second officer. He started to fire another shot, and Frost thrust her hand out with a yell of rage, unaware of how much power was in the blast as the ice seemed to have a mind of its own.

The bullet froze and dropped to the ground. The wave of cold energy reached the officer and shrouded him in mist for a few seconds as Frost walked closer, keeping up the blast. She stopped when she stood in front of him. The mist cleared to reveal his body encased in ice, his hand still holding the gun out, an icicle still spearing him in the shoulder.

The shoulder. "You wanted us to match," she said in an undertone, unable to hide the pain in her voice. "You're an idiot."

He looked at her, the majority of his face still free of the ice, and she walked back to the first officer, reaching into his pocket to pull out, sure enough, his phone.

"You boys have fun," she said as she walked away, as Cicada had. "I'm sure someone will find you soon, before you get frostbite."

She walked to the fifth opening and ducked through it, hurrying her step. Now she really had to lay low. Her shoulder throbbed with each heartbeat, and the blood was starting to run down her arm. It would draw attention if someone really looked at her.

She found herself walking towards a park, and slipped into the denser part of the back woods gratefully. She could hide here. The trees were so thick even the bright morning light looked like twilight.

She settled against a tree and took off her jacket to inspect the wound. The bullet seemed to have gone right through her, but she had to do something to stop the bleeding. Though the officer had done it, she blamed Cicada. He was the cause of all of this.

She ended up wadding up the jacket and leaning against it while holding part of it to the front of her shoulder, her hatred for Cicada darkening her already dark thoughts.

 **A/N: I told you action was coming! What did you think?**

 **We're just over a week away from the season five premiere. Originally, I wanted to have this story finished by then. I won't have it done in time for that. Just know that my version of Cicada will be different from the show's. I have no idea how they're going to introduce him, but we'll meet him in this story soon. I'm still trying to decide a major part though. Do you think Frost should go through with killing him? I'm torn. Part of me wants her to. Part of me wants her to stay like the rest of the team, and focus just on stopping him.**

 **Please, give me feedback. I want to know what you guys think, and your comments really motivate me. See you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long. I couldn't post last Monday, and the rest of the week was super busy. The season premiere was so good! I almost feel bad for depicting Nora as slightly mean in this story, but we don't know her too well yet, so I'm still okay with it. This chapter is setting everything up. Next chapter is action again, I promise. You'll also meet Cicada. But this chapter was necessary for them to find him.**

 **Hope you like it.**

Cisco could tell from the look on Joe's face that the man had bad news. His thoughts left the checkup he was running on his satellite as he stood, waiting for Joe to talk.

"Where is everyone?" Joe asked.

"Around," Cisco said, a bit shortly. "I think Barry and Nora are running laps."

"Call them in here," Joe said.

Some of Cisco's attitude faded as he heard the severity in Joe's voice, and pressed the intercom button. "Everybody, get here now."

He looked at Joe as they waited. The man hadn't said much the last few days, largely keeping out of the heated discussions *arguments* they'd been having about Cicada and Frost. Cisco had been keeping out of them too, because if he wasted time arguing about it, it would take that much longer to get his best friend back and catch the murderous psychopath. He'd been fixing his satellite and, whenever he'd had to wait for it to do something on its own, he'd been studying Cicada with Ralph.

Nora appeared first, in a crackle of purple and yellow lightning. Barry was two seconds behind, with Iris in his arms. He let her go and turned to Cisco expectantly.

"Hold on," Cisco said. "Ralph!" he yelled.

"Coming!"

Ralph ran in about thirty seconds later, and then looked at them. "What's up?"

Cisco looked at Joe, silently asking _now_? Joe sighed. "I got a heads up from a buddy at CCPD, so we've got about an hour before the whole department knows. Two officers found another body."

"Cicada?" Barry asked.

"In an alleyway this time," Joe confirmed. "But that's not why we got the heads up. Apparently when the officers got there, Frost was next to the body."

"You know she didn't do it," Cisco said immediately.

"She didn't kill him," Joe said, "but she did wound the officers. Pretty good wounds, too."

Cisco's thoughts started spinning. "If she thought they were a threat to her, she could have thought she was defending herself -."

"She sent an icicle through Danson's shoulder," Joe said roughly.

Cisco's voice trailed off as he heard the anger in Joe's tone. He brought his gaze to Barry, trying to read his friend's reaction. Barry seemed caught somewhere between worry and fear. It didn't exactly reassure Cisco.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Barry asked.

"Should be," Joe said. "Word's going out within the hour that Frost isn't friendly anymore."

"The city knows she's a hero, though," Iris said.

Cisco looked at her, latching onto her words. It was true that all the bad press Caitlin had gotten from following Savitar was mostly forgotten.

"Attacking CCPD officers makes people question that," Joe said.

"She's spiraling."

Cisco looked up at Nora's voice.

"She's becoming darker," she continued. "Turning evil; whatever you want to call it."

"It's not like she's a villain," Cisco said, his voice rising to a yell as he faced her. "I mean, come on, we stripped her of her memories! She's out there with no idea who we are!" He swallowed. "Maybe with no idea who she is," he said more quietly.

"It doesn't excuse attacking those officers," Joe said. "Not that bad."

"Maybe we should take a break," Ralph said. "Everyone's getting a little -."

"So you're gonna try and arrest her?" Cisco demanded.

"So we need to find her before she actually kills someone!" Joe said.

"Cicada's taking care of the killing!" Iris said, stepping forward.

"I told you Frost was dangerous," Nora said smugly.

"SHUT UP!" Cisco bellowed as the voices started overlapping, rising to be heard over each other.

He couldn't take any more fighting like this, and once the voices cut off, he saw flickers of shame in all the faces around him for the outbursts. He was breathing heavily, and turned away to try to calm down. He knew if he tried to say anything, he would start the fighting again. He wasn't about to stand here and listen to them turn Caitlin into a villain.

"The satellite's almost fixed, right Cisco?" Barry asked.

Cisco nodded without turning.

"Alright. So we can track her down soon." He had a soothing quality to his voice; being the leader they needed him to be. "Joe, you and I'll go talk to the officers about the incident. Iris, you and Ralph look into the newest victim, try to find some connections to the others."

Cisco heard them start moving, and felt Barry come up next to him. "I know you're worried about her, but we need to focus right now," Barry said just above a whisper.

"We can't let them make her a bad guy," Cisco said back, just as quietly. "This is as much on us as it is on her."

"I know," Barry said. His hand came to rest on Cisco's shoulder for a few seconds, and the surge of anger inside Cisco finally started abating.

"I'll finish fixing the satellite and start looking into how to fix her," he said.

Barry patted his shoulder reassuringly before walking out of the Cortex with Joe. Cisco took a deep breath and walked back over to his computer. He wished more than ever that he could vibe Caitlin. Or that he could go back in time and tell his stupid self to not do the dark matter experiment. He didn't care which would work.

He just wanted her back.

* * *

The woods didn't have the best signal, so Frost went closer to the city when she felt like she could move again. She stayed in the park, but getting to the point where more light was let in proved sufficient for the cellular signal. She opened the web browser and searched for the most recent victim. An article about the murder provided his name. A search for that brought her to a list of sources with his name tagged.

He'd had a house, apparently. One of the links was the real estate listing when he sold it seven years before. He hadn't had an agent, but put up an ad for a pitiful amount. It made Frost curious, and she realized he had probably lost his job at that point.

She spent a few hours researching him and the other victims, and found signs that they'd all had significant changes seven years ago. The lawyer was young, but he hadn't started as a lawyer immediately. He'd only been with his firm for three years. The stay at home dad had three kids, the oldest of which had been born about seven years ago, from local sports team records in the newspaper.

On a whim, she searched for companies in Central City that had closed seven years ago, and her eyes sharpened as a promising result showed up.

Central City Movers, a physical labor for hire company, was in business for ten years before it went bankrupt seven years ago. All eight employees were laid off. The most recent victim must not have been able to find another job. The lawyer… he could have been working there as he went through school. She wasn't sure about the stay at home dad. He might have been planning to leave anyway, if his kid had been born around that time.

Still, it was a link. The only one she'd been able to find. Cicada had to know these men from their time working for Central City Movers, which meant he had probably worked there too. She found herself muttering "come on" under her breath as she started a new search for the employee list.

Thankfully, a moving company wasn't exactly high level security, where the employees' identities were closely guarded. The website for Central City Movers still existed, and featured a 'Meet Our Movers' page with their names. And pictures.

Frost scrolled through the page so quickly she had to scroll back up to see it clearly. She found the most recent victim. And the one before him. The first victim was near the bottom of the list. The website showed 8 workers. Three were victims of Cicada. The remaining five were varying ages and appearances, though they were all men. Frost looked into their faces, trying to read into them. One of them had to be Cicada.

She spent the next few hours searching for information on the other five men. It was slow, requiring careful attention to detail, and by the time she looked up the last man her eyes were tired and strained. The phone's battery was almost dead. She had an idea of who Cicada was, though.

David Hersch.

She stared at his picture on the Central City Movers webpage, and she could see how this man was a killer. He had a look in his eyes that was familiar to her. He looked about the same age as her dad, meaning he could have been there when he disappeared. He had a connection to the three victims. And he'd suffered a loss: his family had died because of an accident involving a metahuman, years ago – before the public had even known some natural metahumans existed. He'd lost his wife and toddler. If anything could inspire a murderous hatred in a person, it was the loss of their family.

He had a tragic story.

It didn't excuse his actions.

She didn't have to try to memorize that face. It was burned into her mind. As the phone died she tossed it away and stood, wincing at the stiffness in her body. She'd been so absorbed in her search that she hadn't significantly moved in all that time. In that initial motion of standing, her shoulder gave an angry throb, the dried blood around the bullet wound cracking. It was still early afternoon, but she couldn't stay in the woods any longer. She needed a real bandage, and a change of clothes. Her stomach kept reminding her she needed food as well, and she wished she had some money on her.

She still had her jacket, but it was pretty conspicuous with the bullet holes in the front and back and the blood stains. She tucked it up in a branch of the tree she had been sitting against and started walking back into Central City.

She'd gotten a basic understanding of the city, in her movements the last few days. There was a soup kitchen not far from the park, which she'd already gone to once. She'd practically run up to the counter and eaten the food outside, but no one had even looked at her, so she thought it was safe to go back. She was getting desperate for food, so she had to chance it.

She stopped by a donation bin first and iced the lock to throw it open. It wasn't very full, but she found a black shirt and purple sweatshirt to replace the ruined clothes. There was a baseball cap in there too, and she grabbed it at the last second. Once she had changed she went to the soup kitchen and fed her protesting belly, taking extra napkins and sliding them under the straps of her bra to stay in place. Not the bandage she'd hoped for, but she didn't know how to get those without going somewhere she could be captured.

She thought about going to find Cicada immediately after she'd eaten, but she was more tired than she would care to admit. She hadn't slept much since she'd woken up in that lab, and whenever she had, it had been a light, restless sleep she could stir herself from easily. She wanted to be fully prepared for Cicada, and if that couldn't happen, she at least wanted to feel more prepared than she did at the moment – which meant going after him after getting some sleep.

She returned to the park, to the tree she'd left her jacket on, and walked further into the woods after retrieving it. When she felt secluded enough she chose a tree and lay down at its base. It was an improvement over the last few nights she'd had, for two reasons: the ground was softer, and she could use the blood-stained jacket as a modified pillow. She placed her head on it and felt sleep pulling at her in seconds.

Tomorrow morning, she would find Cicada. The thought comforted her enough to let her guard down, and actually enter a deep sleep. The threat of him was almost over.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is the chapter I've had planned since I started this story (I thought of the confrontation with him and wanted to make a story about it). We're not done yet, but this is a big one in terms of moving the plot forward. Please, tell me what you think of it.**

Frost was staked out near Hersch's house by dawn, so when he moved, it was easy enough to follow him. She had to make sure it was him before attacking: she didn't want to kill an innocent man. He walked around the city, apparently aimlessly. She followed at a distance, comforted by the baseball cap and hood that she wore, letting her hide while she stayed in the open.

Hersch stopped his morning walk after taking the stairs to a multi-level rooftop garden. He sat on the edge of the concrete bordering the central flower display, on the top level. The bushes were tall and thick enough for her to sit on the lip of concrete on the opposite side. She held her knees against her in an effort to stay as small as possible as she leaned forward, trying to peer around the bushes at him. The hood disrupted her vision, so she lowered it hastily.

He was pulling out a laptop, opening it to the news. She watched him click on the article about the most recent Cicada murder. He scrolled through it lazily, and she leaned closer, trying to see his facial expression.

She leaned in too close, because he turned and caught her staring. He slammed the laptop closed, a furious glint in her eyes, and she knew he was Cicada. They stood at the same time, facing each other, and in her certainty, her powers started making a frozen mist around her hands, urging her to use them.

Cicada smiled. "You _are_ a metahuman."

She thrust her hands up, summoning a sheet of ice level with his neck and launching it at him. He whipped a lightning shaped dagger from his coat and pointed it at her. The heat from the electrical weapon was so intense it melted the ice sheet before it could touch his neck. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. The lightning from the weapon arched out in the direction it was pointed: towards Frost.

She stiffened as the lightning struck her center mass, obliterating any ice – and thoughts – she had been forming. Her body failed to stay upright, and she started toppling backwards as Cicada grinned wickedly.

* * *

Cisco was working with Ralph and Iris when Barry and Joe got back from interviewing the officers, but he didn't have any idea how to fix Caitlin's memory, and knew talking to Barry might only make things worse. If he got more worked up, he would be even less likely to come up with a solution.

After a night racking his brain, he realized he had to find out what had happened first thing. Maybe he needed to be more worked up to actually think of something useful. He probably should have asked Barry instead of Joe, because the bluntness of Joe's answer certainly worked him up.

"They shot her."

"They did WHAT?" Cisco bellowed.

"He hit her shoulder," Joe said. "Through and through. We recovered the bullet."

So now his best friend wasn't just being hunted for, but she had a bullet wound that needed to be taken care of. If it was their Caitlin, he wouldn't be as concerned by the bullet wound. It would still bother and worry him, but he wouldn't be imagining the wound staying open, potentially getting infected. He didn't know if she remembered how to do all the doctoring stuff they usually took for granted.

"The satellite works enough," he said. "It's not perfect, but it can give us her rough location."

"Boot it up," Barry said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Cisco muttered under his breath. He set the satellite to look for her cold signature, while Barry changed into his suit. In less than a second Barry stood behind him, looking over his shoulder.

"Where's Ralph?" Barry asked as the satellite searched.

"Still with Iris, I think."

"And Nora?"

"Not sure. In case you didn't notice, things got a little tense between us."

"She's just trying to protect us," Barry said.

The satellite pinged at them, and Cisco leaned closer to the screen. "She's at the Arbor Building," he said, his adrenaline starting to sharpen his senses. "Can you run me there?"

"You can't use your powers," Barry said. "It might be safer if I just go."

Cisco fixed him with a look. "You're not going without me."

Barry obviously wanted to argue, but realized they had to move fast and nodded. He ran Cisco to the base of the building and stopped.

"What?" Cisco asked.

It was only as he finished speaking that he heard the sirens. "Fire," Barry said.

"Go check it out."

"This is more important-."

"Barry, you can probably clear out the building and be back before I've even found her. I'll wait for you before doing anything."

Barry hesitated and touched his arm before running towards the sound of sirens. Cisco shook his head and started jogging up the stairs. Of course there would be a fire right now. Why wouldn't there be?

He shouldn't need Barry for a few minutes, anyway. He still had to lay eyes on Caitlin, and assess the situation.

He found her pretty quickly, because there weren't many people looking at the flowers yet. It was still early in the morning.

He could see her, on the upper balcony. Her hair didn't exactly blend in, even with the baseball cap. She was sitting on the ground on one side of a concrete partition, her knees drawn up close to her. She'd gotten different clothes; maybe she'd taken care of her wound too. It looked like she was leaning towards the edge of the partition. There was a man on the other side. Cisco realized she was spying on him.

He started walking towards the stairs that would lead to the roof, his hand slowly reaching for the cuffs in his pocket. He was done chasing her. If he walked slowly enough, Barry would catch up in just a few seconds…

He thought for a moment that she somehow knew he was coming, because she stiffened and drew back. Then he realized the man had caught on to her spying – and he wasn't happy. Cisco started running when he saw Caitlin start to attack him, but even in that instant the man had pulled out something very familiar. He held the lightning bolt shaped weapon in his hand as her attack reached him, and the ice melted from the heat travelling in the lightning. Cisco watched, frozen into suspended animation, as the lightning from the weapon struck Caitlin. She didn't even seem to react when it touched her. She just staggered back, falling, and he realized as he watched with an open mouth that she was going to fall over the railing.

He felt a pain behind his eyes, and jumped forward –

Through a breach, right next to her on the roof. He caught her limp form before she could fall, cutting off the electricity from Cicada's weapon with his own body and jumping through another breach. This time he didn't know where he jumped to. He just knew that, though she was unconscious, Caitlin was still alive.

He thought she must be the first person Cicada hadn't succeeded in killing with those nasty weapons.

He landed on the ground outside of a tall building, rolling roughly to a stop. He didn't let her go, so when he did move to a kneeling position, he still had a firm grip on her. He loosened it as he realized he had her. And that he had a splitting headache. Apparently he could still use his powers, if he was desperate enough.

He took out the power-dampening cuffs and put them on her wrists, in front of her body. He was surprised when her hair didn't turn brown, and more than a little concerned. Had he really lost Caitlin this time, so Frost was all that remained of his best friend?

He leaned back on his hand, looking at her, and his breath shuddered a bit when he saw her move. Not fully waking, but beginning to. He would find out soon.

* * *

There were restraints on her wrists, and she saw a familiar face when she opened her eyes.

"No running this time," he said.

She sat up quickly. "Cisco!"

Cisco faltered. "Frost?"

"Oh, I couldn't remember you before!" Frost said. She wasn't empty, like she'd been in the lab. She knew Cisco, and Barry and Iris and Joe and Ralph. She knew who she was.

"You're not just trying to get away?" he asked. "Cause I really don't wanna track you down again."

"I'm sorry about running. I thought you wanted to capture me."

"I kind of did." He started to crack a smile. "Man I'm glad you're back. I was starting to worry you were gonna try to work for Cicada."

"Cicada!" She looked around.

"Relax, he's gone."

Frost clenched her teeth. "Gone, not dead. I wanted to kill him."

Cisco was looking at her nervously, and she didn't understand why there was pain behind his eyes. "I know you don't like killing, but -."

"Is Caitlin still in there?" he asked, his voice gentle.

Cicada temporarily left her thoughts. Was Caity still there? She hadn't had any recollection of her after the dark matter experiment, so she hadn't thought to check. Now she closed her eyes and tried falling back, giving up control.

"There she is!"

She started at the yell, as did Cisco. Several members of the authorities started running towards them. Frost stood, raising her hands up. "It's okay," Cisco said.

The officers veered to the side once Frost raised her hands though, and came towards them faster. "They don't know who we are," Frost said, starting to run. It was clear they thought she meant to hurt them.

"We're in Star City," Cisco said, running next to her. "You vandalized some stuff here, remember?" He looked over his shoulder. "I've got it under control!" he yelled to them.

"Stop!" one of the officers yelled.

"Open a breach!" Frost said. The officers obviously didn't want to talk first.

"Yeah, I've been having a little trouble with that."

She looked at him quickly. "But you opened one to save me."

"First one in weeks."

She growled in frustration. "I can't protect us with these stupid cuffs on."

"You shouldn't even be awake with those cuffs on!" Cisco cried.

She almost stopped as his words hit her. Caity better still be in there.

She let herself get distracted from effectively running, and stumbled over a rough patch of the street. With her hands cuffed in front of her she couldn't balance herself, and tripped forward.

"Caitlin!"

"Keep going!" she yelled, digging her elbows into the street in a pre-emptive motion to stand. She lurched to her feet, moving forward before she'd fully recovered her balance. She made it a few feet before the officers caught up with her, and saw Cisco start to slow down. It almost looked like he was going to turn around. "Go call Barry!" she yelled as her arms were gripped tightly. "This is all a misunderstanding," she said to the officers. They seemed amused at that.

"Please, let me explain," she said, as earnestly as possible. Just as one of the officers reached Cisco Frost saw a blue ripple in the air, and watched Cisco successfully jump through the breach to safety, with a backwards glance at her. At least he got away.

"And give you time to use your powers and escape? Yeah right." One of the officers walked in front of her. "You can talk when you can't use your powers. Until then…"

"But I ca- aaahhh!" Frost's legs buckled underneath her at the crushingly blunt blow to the back of her head. Her vision became black for a few seconds as pain exploded in her head. Then it seemed to multiply as she was hit again, and she sagged to the ground, the officers' grips on her arms the only things keeping her up. She was dimly aware of being moved, her feet dragging across the pavement, and then she was thrown somewhere. She was barely conscious, only receiving limited visual and auditory clues about her situation, and she knew she wasn't processing half of them.

She faded in and out for some time, and the next time she surfaced for more than a few seconds she felt hands on her arms again. She couldn't lift her head, but she saw a red blur along the ground. Dizziness made it impossible to focus. Red, and movement, and a bit of yellow…


	7. Chapter 7

"Girl really knows how to make an entrance," Iris said, both wistful and concerned. Cisco knew she was trying to lessen the tension in the room, and a part of him was glad for it. Another part didn't want to talk to anyone or deal with anything, and made him stare at the floor.

"She'll be okay," Barry said, standing next to Iris and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "The doctor said there shouldn't be any permanent damage."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean this isn't serious." Iris looked towards the doors. They'd been shooed out of the hospital room so the doctor could check on Caitlin a few minutes ago. That was after she'd been seen by a different one, who'd stitched up her bullet wound and put her on an IV, since she was dehydrated. This second doctor was checking her head, since she'd started waking up. He'd told them they could go and see her after his checkup. And here they were, waiting twenty minutes later.

Cisco could feel the tension in Barry. He knew the speedster was mad at him for jumping into action. He also knew he hadn't had a choice. If he hadn't jumped through that breach on the rooftop, Caitlin would be dead. Period.

Of course Barry's complaint once Cisco had told him that (actually, once Cisco had yelled it) was that he hadn't breached immediately to S.T.A.R. Labs. _I couldn't exactly control it,_ Cisco had yelled. This was right after he'd managed to breach himself to the lab, when the Star City police were capturing Caitlin, so he hadn't been worried about his manners. Barry had sped off in the next instant to save her.

Iris and Cisco had driven to the hospital to meet him, in a silent, anxious car ride.

"Mr. Allen?"

Cisco bolted up at the doctor's voice, as did Barry and Iris. Barry stepped forward eagerly. "Is she okay?"

"She will be."

Cisco demanded his gaze. "What does that mean?"

"She needs to stay here until tomorrow, so we can observe her. The head injuries she sustained don't seem to be damaging, but it can be difficult to tell sometimes. With mental trauma we like to be certain."

"Can we see her?" Iris asked.

"Yes, for a little bit. I'm afraid the three of you can't all stay for more than a few minutes."

"That's fine," Cisco said, walking past him. He could hear Barry and Iris hurrying after him, and walked to the room Caitlin was staying in. She looked at the door right as he walked through it. He slowed and started to relax. She already looked so much better, just being conscious and alert.

"Hey guys," she said with a bit of a smile.

Cisco was tempted to smile, himself, at the relaxed quality of her voice. He'd forgotten that the IV she had wasn't just water. There was something in there for pain too.

"How you feeling?" Iris asked, stepping up to the bed.

"My shoulder doesn't hurt anymore, so whatever they gave me in the needle works." She fully smiled, and it was such a Frost gesture.

"You really do find trouble, you know that?" Barry said teasingly.

"Found Cicada too."

"Yeah, Cisco said he found you."

"No," she said, pouting slightly. "I found him. David Hersch."

Barry, Cisco, and Iris all looked at each other, and when Cisco looked back at Caitlin, she seemed smug. "I knew I'd find him."

"Iris -."

"I'm on it." Iris pecked Barry on the cheek. "Rest up, okay?" she said to Caitlin. She pulled out her cell phone as she turned to leave, and Cisco heard her say "Dad? Caitlin ID'd Cicada," before she was out of earshot.

Barry grabbed Caitlin's hand. She closed her eyes for a long second. "I can't believe I didn't remember you guys," she said when she opened them again.

"It's my fault," Cisco said. His voice was trembling a little. "Don't blame yourself for any of it."

She turned her eyes to him, and it was strange to see sadness in the blue eyes. "I hurt people, Cisco."

"And they hurt you," he said.

"Try not to worry about it," Barry said soothingly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

He glanced at Cisco for a second, as if he wanted Cisco's approval before asking. As if Cisco knew what he was thinking. "Are you fully Frost now?"

Now Cisco understood the look. He might not have asked it in this conversation, but he wanted the answer himself, so he didn't try to keep her from answering. It seemed to take her a second to focus, and then she blew out a small breath of icy mist. Before the mist started to fade the white of her hair started to darken, pigment started warming her eyes. She looked at them with brown hair and eyes, completely Caitlin, and Cisco knew he was smiling with his mouth open as relief surged through him.

He couldn't help it. He leaned down and hugged her, trying to be as careful as he could. She laughed loosely, putting one hand on his back.

"I'm right here, Cisco," she promised.

"Why couldn't you come out before?" he asked. "When I put the cuffs on Frost?"

She took a few seconds to answer, longer than she'd taken before. He could see that she was inching closer to sleep again, no doubt partly because of the IV. Still, she answered. "We were being chased by cops before I could start to try," she said, after a very long blink. "There's no barrier between us now, but we still need to be able to focus to change."

"What do you mean, no barrier?" Barry asked, leaning closer.

"Me and Frost," Caitlin murmured. "No memory gap. No barrier."

"But -."

Cisco shook his head at Barry, and the speedster nodded his understanding. Caitlin smiled at them weakly and closed her eyes. Cisco thought she was asleep in seconds.

"No barrier," Barry said quietly.

"Yeah," Cisco said. Was it possible the re-exposure to dark matter had…? He looked at her and pushed the theories from his mind, taking a seat. He didn't need to think about anything right now. He deserved a break as much as any of them.

* * *

Caitlin walked back into S.T.A.R. Labs the next day to a cheer from Ralph, and smiled at him. "It's good to see you too," she said.

Cisco was right next to her, hovering like a worried mother. "I'm fine," she told him for the fourteenth time that morning. The doctor had tested her a few times for signs of a head injury, and she'd passed everything just fine. She had a minor headache, but that was to be expected. Her bullet wound had healed when she'd let Frost take over earlier in the morning, and then she'd taken charge again.

She felt guilty about some of the things she'd done, but she was definitely happy with the end result. Frost had been a separate personality before, untouchable. Now, she was still a different persona, but she felt so much more connected. Changing between each other, giving up control and taking it back, was effortless, as long as they had a second to concentrate. Frost wasn't just her powers anymore. The fact that Frost had stayed out even with the power-dampening cuffs proved that. She was a complete person: fully half of Caitlin Snow.

"My mom said you know who Cicada is?" Nora asked.

"David Hersch," she confirmed. "I would have found him sooner if I hadn't had to use a cell phone to look for information, but it worked well enough."

"I'd say," Ralph said. "Use what you've got in the moment: Dibny's first rule of being a private investigator."

"Is that what we're calling Frost's stunt?" Nora asked.

Caitlin looked at Barry and Iris's daughter carefully, picking up on the distaste when she said 'Frost.' "I'm sorry I caused trouble for you guys," she started.

"She found Cicada, though," Barry said, looking at Nora meaningfully. "We've all messed up before. The important thing is now we have a way to track him."

Nora muttered a "sorry" and walked over to the computer. "Mom's getting coffee now, but she told CCPD they had a name for Cicada. They've set up a watch on his house."

"He won't go back there," Caitlin said. "Not for long, anyway."

"Maybe he's a stupid serial killer," Ralph said. "A homebody?"

Cisco was shaking his head. "We're not that lucky. But we have the satellite again, so I can run facial recognition." He walked behind the computer and started inputting instructions. "If he photobombs someone's selfie, we'll see where he is."

"Only one more thing to worry about," Nora said. "How do we stop him?"

Caitlin knew one way, though she kept it to herself. Killing him. Nora had told them in the old timeline, they never caught him. Maybe they wouldn't catch him in this one either; maybe killing him was the only way to eliminate the threat he posed.

They stayed in the cortex most of that day, hovering around the computer as they waited for a sighting. They proposed different methods to catch him, and decided on a classic plan: Barry and Nora would distract him while Ralph snuck up from behind, with the intention of knocking him out before he could act.

Cisco was told to stay at the lab, since his powers weren't working reliably.

Caitlin wasn't told to act either way. She thought they assumed she didn't want to go after him. She would convince them otherwise when they actually got a hit.

Cisco kept trying to open breaches throughout the day. A few times the blue light that surrounded the breaches started wavering in the air, but the portals never opened.

When they did get a hit, Barry was in his suit faster than Caitlin had ever seen him change. He looked at Iris and nodded, then grabbed Ralph and ran out, Nora a purple and yellow streak behind him. Caitlin stepped towards the door, mouth open to call out. She stared at the doorway, "Barry" still ready to be spoken.

"He left," she said.

"Yeah, he does that," Cisco said.

She turned to face him. "He was supposed to take me with him!"

"You don't have to worry," Iris said, turning up the volume on the comms. "They'll get him this time."

Caitlin bit the inside of her lip but didn't say anything. She walked closer to the computers, listening to the comms anxiously.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan until Barry yelled "Ralph!" There was a lot of static, and Ralph cried out. Caitlin clutched the edge of the desk hard, listening.

"That hurt," Ralph said.

She breathed out in relief that he was alive.

"You like lightning?" Nora asked. "So do we."

"Nora, don't -."

More static, and then two sounds at once: a deep, male voice groaning, and a higher feminine one screaming.

"Nora!" Iris cried.

There was silence on the comms. Iris was looking at the computer with terrified eyes. "Nora, are you okay? Barry, what happened?"

"I'm okay, Mom," Nora said, sounding a little pained but alright. "He sent some lightning back at me, but Dad and Ralph cut it off."

"We got him," Barry said, breathing heavy. "We're bringing him in."

Caitlin looked up, meeting Iris and Cisco's triumphant expressions with a straight, determined face. It was time to find out the truth.


	8. Chapter 8

"We got him."

Cisco was looking at the security feed, his arms crossed and a half-smile on his face. Cicada was in the pipeline, stripped of his lightning weapon. He was awake, but he hadn't spoken since waking up. He simply stared at the camera with an empty, unconcerned expression.

The West-Allens had all gone to CCPD to tell Joe and all the officers that they'd captured Cicada. Ralph was resting in the med bay, recovering from the burn on his shoulder from a blast of lightning.

"I'm gonna go see him," Caitlin said to Cisco.

"Why?"

"He has answers about what happened to my father."

Cisco looked at her. "I thought your dad died from MS or something."

"I thought he was dying, but he disappeared before I could be sure. He told me to look out for someone called Cicada right before he vanished." She met his eyes. "I need to do this, Cisco."

Cisco hesitated but nodded. "You want me to come with you?"

She thought he already knew the answer, though she did appreciate the offer. "No, I have to do this on my own."

She made her way down into the pipeline, taking a second to steel herself before opening the first door to his cell. She was positive he would try to drive her away, and say awful things. She just had to last long enough to find out what had happened.

He reacted once the door was gone, studying her. "You're the girl from the roof," he said. "You look like her, anyway."

"I need you to tell me everything you know about Thomas Snow," she said directly.

"Snow, Snow… I haven't heard that name in a while. Why do you…?" A dark smirk altered his expression. "You're his daughter, aren't you?"

She told herself not to react.

"Yeah, he always talked about a daughter when we got going. Thing he loved most in the world. He tried to keep you a secret, but after a few hours trying to 'convince' him to help me, he wasn't exactly in his right mind. Rambled about a daughter. A daughter named Caitlin."

She told herself not to react again, but she knew he could see the fury raging inside her. "What did you do to him?" she asked, struggling to maintain an even tone.

"Needed his help." He seemed to be enjoying this. "He gave it to me."

"What happened to him?" she asked, her voice a little less even, a little bit louder.

"It was a while ago," he said offhandedly. "Can't remember."

"You do remember!" she shouted, and in that instant Frost took over, stalking up to the glass separating them. "If you remember my name, you remember what happened to him. _What you did to him_."

"This was about twenty years ago, wasn't it? Would it even matter if I said I did anything?"

Frost slammed a hand against the door. Ice crackled on the glass around it. Cicada didn't flinch.

"I recognize you, now," he said. "Killer Frost. If I'd known you were Snow's daughter, I would have bumped you up on my list."

"Why's that?" she asked.

He looked up at her. "To send him a message."

Her hand dropped from the glass door, and she didn't realize she was moving backwards until her back hit the wall. Her breath was unsteady, and with difficulty she focused and looked back at Cicada. "You're saying Thomas Snow is alive?"

He stared at her, mute, and rage started fighting with the shock and need swirling around in her body. She wanted nothing more than to open that glass door and throttle him, but if he was telling the truth, and her dad was alive… she might need him.

"Tell me," she ordered, stalking forward again.

"Tell you what?"

 _"_ _Where is Thomas Snow?"_

He seemed to sense how close she was to breaking and doing something rash, because for a single second, he almost looked impressed at how quiet her voice was.

"WHERE IS HE?" she yelled.

He started to smile, shaking his head, and her rage overwhelmed her. She would find out on her own. She raised her hand back to freeze the glass door, ready to be done with Cicada's tricks.

Cisco stopped her, running in with a yell of "Caitlin, don't!"

She could feel herself shaking, but dropped her arms and looked at Cisco before walking out of the pipeline. She heard Cisco close the outer cell door, and saw him run up behind her. "Hey," he said.

"You heard?"

"I – yeah, I heard."

"Then you know why I wanted to - …"

"He could be lying," Cisco said gently. "If your dad were alive, don't you think he would have come back for you?"

She hadn't had much time to think about it, but she had a defense ready. "Not if Cicada was keeping him somewhere."

"That's a pretty big if."

"So was catching Cicada in the first place," she said, stopping and turning to fully face him, "but I did a pretty good job of that on my own."

She saw the flash of hurt in his eyes. It cooled her rage abruptly – so abruptly that she almost felt empty. Caitlin took control, looking at Cisco almost numbly. "I didn't mean that," she said, just above a whisper.

"I know," Cisco said. His eyes were big, and shining with something like grief. "It's okay."

He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. It helped some of the numbness go away, but not by much. Everything was all too much for one hug to make it better.

* * *

Cisco stopped the recording of Caitlin's interview with Cicada and looked at the others.

"See what I mean?" Cisco asked quietly. The lights were low in the cortex, reflecting the hushed mood that had fallen over them perfectly. The high from capturing Cicada was gone, with this recording.

"I can't tell if he's lying," Nora said.

Barry slammed the side of his fist against the desk, then turned to face the wall, lacing his fingers behind his head.

Cisco took the recording off the screen completely and looked at the others, aware that this was their best chance to talk about it. Caitlin was asleep, had been for over an hour. She hadn't said anything after her outburst. She'd simply walked over to a bed and laid down. In a way it had been almost comforting: Caitlin did that when she needed to process something, and usually woke up more herself. It was concerning every time, though, because it meant she was shaken to her core, and no one on the team could do a thing to help her find her balance.

"Most likely scenario, Cicada killed Thomas," Ralph said.

"But in the off chance he's telling the truth, and Thomas is alive?" Joe asked. "Can we even find him?"

"Do we want to go down that rabbit hole?" Cisco asked. He thought Caitlin would be slightly better in the morning, but if they started searching for Thomas, it could be a while before they found him. And they didn't even know for sure that he was alive.

"We can't believe anything Cicada says," Iris said. "He's too good a liar."

Cisco looked at Barry, still facing the wall. "Barry. What do you think?"

Barry slowly turned. "I think we need to talk to Cicada, and then ask Caitlin what she wants to do."

"You wanna question him now?" Ralph started.

Joe shook his head. "I know you don't have to listen to me, but you should let this rest for the night. Come at him first thing in the morning, with a fresh head."

Barry looked at him for a second and dipped his head. "Joe's right."

Cisco peeked his head in to check on Caitlin as the others started to leave. He wasn't the only one to do so. Nora was just turning away when Cisco walked in, and she stopped, pressing her lips together. She seemed unsure of what to do.

"Out like a light?" Cisco asked.

She nodded, then went to walk past him. She stopped after a few steps. "I didn't know Cicada took her dad."

So that was what had softened Nora to Caitlin and Frost. Cisco nodded to himself. "Caitlin fights for her friends and family," he said. "Frost takes things a little further, but keeps the same reasons."

Nora was still for a second before walking away. Cisco wasn't sure what that pause meant for her understanding of Frost. He wasn't sure he would ever be sure about Nora's understanding of a lot of things, but this at least seemed to point to their relationship healing a bit.

Cisco glanced at Caitlin, confirming that she was deeply asleep from her even breathing. Then he walked to his desk and sat down with a sigh. He put his feet on the desk and stuffed a sweatshirt behind his head as a cushion. It wasn't his bed at home, but he didn't want her to wake up alone in the lab.

* * *

She didn't wake up until early morning, disoriented from how deeply she'd slept. She went to the bathroom and made herself coffee, then made a second cup on a whim. She was glad she had when she saw Cisco at his desk, tinkering with some tech. He glanced up when she set down a mug. She raised one eyebrow at him, and he grinned, picking the mug up.

"Where are the others?" Caitlin asked, perching on the edge of his desk.

"They should be here any time. I thought I might have to wake you up."

She could hear the strain hiding behind his words, reflecting his anxiety. "I'm okay, Cisco. Better than last night."

"I… I showed the others the security feed," he said, looking at his coffee. "I thought they should know."

"They should," she said, and she didn't know why he seemed surprised she was agreeing with him. "I assume Barry will want to interrogate him too."

Cisco was quiet, and they drank their coffee and waited for the rest of the team to get there. They weren't kept waiting long. They walked into the cortex when people started arriving, and once everyone was ready, Caitlin shifted her weight forward.

"Cisco told me you guys watched my interview with Cicada," she said. "So you know what he said about my dad."

"Yeah," Iris said, looking at her sadly.

"I don't – I don't really know what to do with that information, so please, be honest with me. Do you think my dad is alive?"

She searched each of the faces, all expressing uncertainty. She could read them well enough to see that most of them thought Thomas Snow was probably dead, or at least that Cicada couldn't be trusted. She focused on Barry, whose expression was more torn than anyone else's.

"I'm gonna talk to him," he said. "Alone, and we'll see if he reveals anything. I'll be right back."

He put on his suit and zoomed down to the pipeline, and everyone else turned as Nora projected the security feed for them. They watched Barry open the outer cell door and get Cicada's attention.

"Hello, Flash," Cicada said.

"Yeah, hi," Barry said. "Look, there's nothing lying can do for you anymore. Do you understand that? You're going to jail for the rest of your life, and nothing's gonna change that. But if you tell us the truth, there may be something in it for you."

"What's he doing?" Joe asked.

"Playing a player," Nora said, smiling slightly.

Cicada seemed to think about it for a second. "What kind of truth are you looking for?"

"Thomas Snow."

Cicada glanced up at the camera, a knowing look in his eyes. "You're here for her benefit."

"Don't worry about her," Barry said. "Just tell me the truth: is Thomas Snow alive?"

Cicada didn't take his eyes off the camera, and Caitlin could feel his cold gaze on her. He knew she was watching. "That depends on what you mean by alive."

"Did you kill him?" Barry asked, a bit rougher.

Cicada finally looked away from the camera, though he didn't look at Barry. He set his gaze on the wall.

Barry waited about half a minute before speaking again. "You don't want any kind of deal?"

"As if you would really give me one. Come on, Flash. You know I'm smarter than that."

"Please," Barry said, abruptly gentler. "You were a dad. My friend just wants to know what happened to hers."

Caitlin could see immediately it was the wrong move to make. Hatred flared in Cicada's eyes, transforming his features as he sprang up and slammed against the glass.

Barry hit the switch that closed the outer door and ran back upstairs. Caitlin watched on the security feed as Cicada slammed the glass door once more and then slid to a sitting position, putting his head in his arms.

"Is he crying?" Nora asked.

"No," Iris said. "That's rage."

"He wouldn't break." Barry walked over to them, looking at Caitlin. "I'm sorry."

"I didn't expect him to."

"I'll keep trying," Barry said. "There's gotta be something we can offer him -."

"Barry, don't," Caitlin said tersely. She wasn't about to let them plead with Cicada, or offer him things for one answer. Cicada didn't deserve anything. "My dad's dead." She was looking through them, her gaze unfocused as she accepted it.

"Cait, you don't know that." Barry walked up to her, forcing her attention with the movement. "Yeah, Cicada probably did it, but if there's even a chance your father's alive, don't you want to take it, and find out for sure?"

She wanted desperately to do that, she thought. But she was done playing games, searching for answers and always being punished for staying the course. Maybe if she didn't search for this answer, she wouldn't get hurt again. "No," she said, her face a mask. She met his eyes so he knew this was her final word on the subject, and kept them until he nodded once.

"So what do we do now?" Joe asked, after about a minute of awkward silence.

"Celebrate?" Ralph asked.

It was a mark of how much they cared about her that they were questioning celebrating the capture of Cicada. Caitlin forced a smile to her face. "I think that's exactly what we should do."

Ralph got his confidence back. "Okay, I know it's first thing in the morning, but I know a place we can get drinks."

"How about we just do breakfast?" Cisco asked.

Caitlin walked to her desk, pretending she needed to check her purse. Really, she just didn't want to have to pretend to smile.

"You're really okay with not looking into this?"

She didn't turn around at Joe's voice, just stopped with her purse partly open. "You heard him taunting us. What does your gut tell you?"

He sighed. "That he killed your dad. But my instincts have been wrong before."

Now she did turn, slightly. "Not when it counts."

He didn't seem to know what to say to that, and walked away. Caitlin took another few minutes to herself before going out and pretending to celebrate with the others. She didn't have to pretend everything, at any rate. She did enjoy being with them and having fun. She even noticed that Nora seemed to be making an effort to smile at her more. But Caitlin wasn't celebrating capturing Cicada. He was too confident, even in a private cell. It wasn't a victory as much as the bare minimum to keep the city safe. Cicada deserved worse.

* * *

She waited until she was sure they'd all gone home for the night before driving back to S.T.A.R. Labs. The hollowness that had settled inside her over twenty-four hours ago was starting to change into feeling again. Determination. She walked down to the pipeline with slow, measured steps, giving herself time to talk herself out of doing it. Each step only made her want to do it more.

He didn't seem surprised to see her, when she opened the first door of his cell. "I knew you would be back," he said.

She opened the second door, so only open air stood between them. "You'll wish you'd been wrong." She stepped forward, letting Frost take over as she raised her hand. Frost summoned ice to the hand Caitlin had started raising and blasted Cicada against the wall of his cell.

"You're not as scary without your weapon," she said quietly.

He didn't seem scared as he looked at her. "Words of a child trying to vanish a monster from under the bed," he said. "A killer doesn't need to rely on a weapon."

"You're right," Frost said. She sent a dagger made of ice into his thigh, and partially smiled when he couldn't hide his cry of pain. "But it's more satisfying that way."

"This won't change anything. You can hurt me all you want, but I'll still get out eventually, and kill again."

She chuckled. "Who said anything about letting you live past tonight?"

She stabbed him in the arm next, leaving the dagger in the wound this time. "You took Thomas from us, David. We needed him."

"You have no idea what you're talking about, girl."

Frost stared at him for a few long seconds, and then let Caitlin take control. Caitlin leaned in close. "She wanted to kill you, David."

He was breathing faster, a trace of fear and pain in his eyes. "But you're not going to let her?"

"No," she said. She breathed out low and hardened her expression. "She's going to let me do it instead."

She grabbed the dagger, wrenching it from his arm and aiming it over his heart. She saw his eyes widen in disbelief, and then in complete fear as she started swinging the dagger downwards.

He wasn't scared for long.

He fell forward, coming to rest on the floor of his cell. She leaned down and took his pulse, and then grabbed the ice dagger and locked the cell behind her. She was shaking slightly, but not as much as she'd thought she would be. She didn't feel hollow inside anymore.

Maybe she was alright with being a killer after all.

 **A/N:**

 **…**

 **…**

 **Well?**

 **Are you surprised? I kept toying with whether or not I should actually have her kill Cicada, and finally just decided to have her do it. It's a big moment for her character - one we'll have to see if she really thought through. What do you think will happen now?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the last chapter of Ice Knight!**

Cisco wasn't surprised that Barry beat him to the lab the next morning. Though Caitlin had said she didn't want answers on her father, the idea that he might be alive, and Cicada might have him somewhere… it seemed worth digging into. So when he saw Barry, Iris, and Nora standing around the cortex, he just nodded a greeting at them.

"Any clue when she's coming in today?" Barry asked.

"I haven't heard from her yet, so you've probably got a little time."

Barry looked at Iris and Nora, as if to make sure they agreed with him doing this. Iris held up her hands. "Caitlin said what she wanted."

"But she might not have meant it," Nora said. "She probably wants to ask Cicada, but doesn't want to give him a chance to hurt anyone else."

Cisco nodded his agreement, and Barry got into his suit. "I'll just try it again real quick. If I don't get anything from him, I'll let it go, and we can bring him to Iron Heights. Okay?"

"Okay, babe," Iris said, frowning slightly.

Barry hesitated for a second before walking out. Cisco looked at Iris and Nora. "So how hungover do you think Ralph will be?"

"He got drunk really fast," Iris said. "Maybe he's already over it."

Cisco was about to respond when he saw their eyes move behind him, and turned to see Caitlin walking in. She looked more relaxed than he'd seen her in weeks. "Morning," he said.

"Good morning," she said with a softened smile.

"You seem really happy," Iris said. "Did you drink more than I thought?"

Caitlin scoffed. "No, nothing like that. I just got a really good night's sleep."

Barry reappeared in the doorway in a burst of light and wind. "Dad!" Nora said, glancing at Caitlin. "Good, you're ready to start training with me!"

Barry's expression wasn't guilty. It was somber. "Cicada's dead."

They all seemed to take a second to understand. "What do you mean?" Iris asked, as Cisco said "how?"

"There's blood," Barry said. "Looks like he was stabbed."

Nora and Cisco moved towards the computer at the same time, and Nora let Cisco take it with a slight dip of her head. Cisco pulled up the security footage from the time they'd left yesterday, up to just before the West-Allens arrived this morning, and started scanning through it.

"You guys aren't upset?" Caitlin asked, with disbelief.

"That he's dead? Not particularly," Cisco said. "But that he was murdered in our lab, in the pipeline?"

"Cisco -."

Cisco watched the screen and couldn't look away for a few seconds as he saw Frost open the cell door. He had flicked his eyes to Caitlin for an instant, uncertain of what to do, and when he looked back at the video, he saw not Frost stabbing Cicada, but Caitlin.

"Did you find it?" Barry asked, walking closer.

"Yeah," Cisco said in a flat voice, pausing the video on Caitlin leaving the cell with ice in her hand. "I found it." He walked away from the computer, and over to Caitlin. She looked him straight in the eye, her face even. "You wanna try to explain that?" he asked quietly.

"Caitlin -," Iris said, looking over at them.

There was a rush of wind, and Cisco heard Caitlin say "hey!" before he saw what had happened. Nora had slapped power-dampening cuffs on her, and stood tensed as if to fight her.

"What's this for?" Caitlin demanded, abruptly angry.

"Oh I don't know," Nora said. "How about killing someone locked in a cell!"

Caitlin's hair started to turn white. Cisco saw the shock in the others' expressions as Frost appeared (with cuffs on), but this wasn't new to him. "I did what I thought I had to," Frost said. "He would have gotten out of prison."

"You don't know that," Barry said faintly.

"He told me!" Frost yelled.

Cisco was looking at her with a growing sense of horror. _I just got a really good night's sleep,_ she'd said. She was acting as if killing him wasn't a big deal. He wanted to blame Frost for this, but it was Caitlin who'd walked in all relaxed this morning. She'd said there was no barrier between her and Frost, and no memory gaps.

Which meant she'd been as much a part of that killing as Frost.

They seemed stuck on what to do. Frost was the first to speak. "Look, I know you think there was a better way to deal with him -."

"Like putting him in a cell?" Nora asked.

"- but that's exactly what he wanted us to do," Frost continued, as if Nora hadn't said anything. "He wasn't scared of Iron Heights. He would have made a living there just fine, which he didn't deserve."

"He got under your skin," Barry said. "You were emotionally vulnerable, and he teased you with information about your dad -."

"He _killed_ my dad!" Frost said.

"That doesn't excuse killing him," Cisco said. "All those times you thought you'd be a killer, I never believed you would. I didn't think my best friend had it in her to actually be a killer." He shook his head, his voice quiet. "Guess I don't know her as well as I thought."

Frost breathed in as if hurt, her mouth open as she looked at him. "Cisco -."

"What do we do?" Iris asked, as Cisco turned to face them. "Caitlin, this is serious. You killed someone."

Her hair darkened, and Caitlin looked at them plainly. "I know."

Cisco turned and stepped away, taking a deep breath. He didn't know what to do. She'd seemed back to normal yesterday, when they were all hanging out. Of course, Cisco knew how good she was at hiding things. Almost too good, so that, a lot of the time, he honestly had to guess if she was hurting.

His thoughts went back to the hospital.

The doctor had taken Cisco aside while Barry helped Caitlin get checked out. He remembered the man's hand on his arm and his low voice as he said _"keep an eye on her. Make sure she's acting like she usually does."_

 _"_ _Do you think she won't?"_

 _"_ _It's just something to be aware of," the doctor said. "Just keep an eye on her for a few days, and if nothing seems off, forget I even brought this up."_

 _"_ _But if something does seem off?"_

 _"_ _Bring her back in, and we'll run some more tests."_

"He was right to worry," Cisco said, mostly to himself. He knew there was something off. Her brain must have been jumbled or something.

"What?" Nora asked.

"Come on, we've gotta go." Cisco reached for Caitlin's arm to pull her forward.

"Where are we going?" Barry asked.

"Back to the hospital."

"Cisco, there's nothing wrong with -."

"Don't!" he said in a raised voice, raising a hand. He levelled his tone and looked at her, one hand still on her arm. "The old Caitlin would never have murdered Cicada. So don't try to say you're fine."

She looked at him, and he could see the irritation warring with something warmer, as if she were glad he cared so much, but thought he didn't get it. He got it just fine. They were going to check her head.

"Barry, you wanna run us there?"

"Cisco, I don't know if there's anything -."

"No? Alright." Cisco concentrated and thrust his free hand out. Nothing happened. "Come on," he muttered. He forced his hand out again, and a feeble breach appeared. "We're going to get some answers." And he moved through it with Caitlin. Nora was right behind him.

* * *

Caitlin had known the others would react badly when they found out, but she hadn't expected Cisco to snap like this. It was almost funny, considering he seemed to think she was the one to have snapped. He clearly thought she had some sort of brain damage from Cicada's attack and then the bashing by those officers. She was a doctor; she knew she was fine. If she had a sudden urge to kill people, she would be concerned, but Cicada had been different. There had been no other way to deal with him.

Cisco marched her over to the reception desk and asked to see the doctor who'd released her. Nora followed at a close distance, eyeing Caitlin. Honestly, they were taking this a bit far.

"You can take the cuffs off me," she said while they waited for the doctor. "I won't run."

Nora looked at Cisco for confirmation, but took the cuffs off. Caitlin flexed her wrists automatically. "You have to accept it, Cisco," she said quietly. "We're all capable of killing someone."

"But not everyone can be a murderer," he said, without looking.

The doctor walked over to them. "What can I do for you?"

"You said to bring her back if she acted any differently," Cisco said. "She's not herself."

"He's over-reacting," Caitlin said to the doctor.

"I think killing someone is out of character," Nora said.

The doctor took a step back. "Excuse me? Killing someone?"

Caitlin looked at Nora with widened eyes, and Nora had a panicked look on her face as she tried to recover. "I mean wanting to kill someone!" she said quickly. "Caitlin's usually a gentle person, so when she said she wanted to kill me, we were like 'whoa, something's up!'" She looked between Caitlin, Cisco, and the doctor, and seemed to realize the doctor didn't believe her.

"I don't know what's going on here, but I don't want any part -."

"Please," Cisco said, stepping forward. "I just want to make sure she's okay. You said there were some tests you could run, to check her brain?"

The doctor looked at Caitlin carefully. Caitlin raised her eyebrows and smiled tightly. "He won't leave until he finds proof there's something wrong with me. Which there isn't," she added, looking at Cisco.

The doctor sighed. "Come with me."

Three hours later (and annoying tests later), the doctor sent them off with an "everything looks normal," and a look that said he was glad they were leaving. Not that Caitlin could blame him. He did know she had killed someone, and he'd been nice enough to not call the authorities. Or maybe he'd been too scared to.

"See, Cisco?" she said as they walked out of the hospital. "I told you I was fine."

He didn't say anything. He just opened a breach back to S.T.A.R. Labs and jumped through it. When Caitlin landed on the floor of the lab, Cisco was already striding towards the door.

"Wait," she said, hurrying after him. "Cisco, talk to me."

"About what?"

She moved in front of him to make him stop. "About this. About what I did. I need to know what you're thinking."

He was barely looking at her, and it was starting to get to her. "You wanna know what I'm thinking, Caitlin?" he asked, in a voice so quiet and almost monotone she could clearly hear how upset he was. "I'm thinking you can't take this back, and right now, you don't care. You think you rid the world of a killer. But you're wrong. There's still the same number of killers in the world, Caitlin. But now, you're one of them."

He stepped around her, and this time, she didn't try to stop him. She was too stunned to even try.

* * *

She didn't try to leave the lab that day. She knew the others were talking about what they should do, and didn't want them to think she just assumed there would be no consequences. She just hoped they weren't considering sending her to Iron Heights. She could live with them being disappointed in what she'd done. She wouldn't go to jail for it. She didn't think they would want her to, but the possibility was in the back of her mind as the day wore on, and they kept giving her looks as they walked past. She just stayed at her desk, trying to get some work done and pretend things could go back to normal.

She knew they wouldn't.

This would become the new normal, for a while at least. Nora wouldn't trust her to go on missions. Barry wouldn't know what to say to her. And Cisco would barely meet her eyes, and she would only see grief in them if he did.

His words weighed on her heavily. He was right. There were exactly the same number of killers in the world. She still thought she'd made a difference. Yes, she'd taken a life, but not like Cicada had. She'd stopped him from taking more lives, in the future. She'd put an end to the threat he posed.

She'd avenged her father.

As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, she knew that was most of the reason she'd actually killed him. He probably wouldn't have escaped from prison, but the idea of him sitting in a cell, living knowing he had taken so much from her… he didn't deserve it.

It was the end of the workday by the time everyone came over to her desk, and drew her attention. All wore grim expressions, for the most part. Joe seemed both angry and disappointed.

"We've talked a lot about what you did," Iris started, in a gentle voice. "And while we don't think it was the right call to make, we can't do anything to change it."

"We're not going to do anything," Barry said. "CCPD won't find out what really happened. As far as the city's concerned, all they'll know is that Cicada died."

Caitlin looked at them and nodded minutely. "Thank you."

"But you have to live with this," Joe said. "You're stuck with this for the rest of your life."

She met the man's eyes and nodded again. "I know."

Joe seemed to be searching her face for something – maybe horror or at least remorse – and when he didn't find it, he walked away without another word. Caitlin looked at the others carefully, trying to see what they thought of her now. It was the first time she'd been face to face with most them since the initial discovery. Iris still seemed slightly shocked. Barry just looked sad, and Caitlin worried he was blaming himself for what she'd done. Nora didn't seem as wary as before; maybe she'd realized Caitlin really wasn't a threat to anyone else. And Cisco wasn't looking at her.

"I know it's gonna be rough for a little while," Caitlin said, trying to speak as soothingly as possible, "but I'm still the same person. We can move past this."

"Maybe eventually," Nora said.

"I think we all need a little time," Barry said.

"I – yeah. Yeah, okay," Caitlin said, trying to swallow her disappointment. Her fears had been valid after all. Her friends didn't know what to do with her.

Iris and Barry walked away, Barry with his arms around Iris's shoulders. Nora left with her speed, in a trail of purple and yellow lightning. Cisco started to wander slowly away, but Ralph stayed.

"You don't have to pretend you're okay with this," Caitlin said to him.

Ralph leaned on her desk. "Do you remember how I wanted to beat DeVoe?"

She frowned slightly. "Yes. You wanted to kill him."

"I did."

"But you didn't kill him."

Ralph didn't look away. "No," he said after a few seconds. "I didn't. But I would have. And I understand why you killed Cicada."

She couldn't hide the shock she felt as she took in how earnest he was. "You understand?"

He scoffed. "Caitlin, Cicada abducted your dad when you were little, and probably killed him. On top of that, he murdered so many people. I can't say I didn't want him dead."

"But you wouldn't have killed him."

He stared at her hard for a second. "No," he said, in a slightly different tone.

Caitlin looked away. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Ralph."

He stepped up closer, turning her chair so she fully faced him again, and his voice was fierce. "I don't know if you're becoming some sort of Snow/Frost hybrid, or what it is that made you able to actually do it, but I'm not just saying this to make you feel better: I'm saying it because it's the truth. I understand why you killed Cicada. It doesn't change the way I see you. I trust you, Caitlin."

She couldn't react at first, as his words registered, and then tears sprang to her eyes. Frost vaulted forward and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't seem to know how to respond, but patted her back awkwardly before tightening his arms around her. She couldn't stop, now that she'd started, and clung to him as she cried. Everything she'd been ignoring lately, all the feelings of rage and pain and grief, finally found their way to the surface; the emotional response to her actions that she'd started to think would never come, showing in an overwhelming rush.

Ralph stayed with her in that position for minutes, letting her get control of herself at her own pace. She sniffled and took a few big breaths to steady herself as she leaned back, and glanced at him with puffy eyes. Ralph wasn't smiling; he just looked at her, most likely assessing her.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice thick from crying.

"Don't be."

Frost started slightly at Cisco's voice, and looked over Ralph's shoulder to see him standing in the doorway.

He walked over, his arms still crossed, but looking at her fully. "I thought you didn't realize the extent of what you'd done. I should be saying sorry to you, for brushing you off."

"Cisco -."

He shook his head. "I'm not saying I get why you did it, Caitlin. I still don't think it's okay. But I'm here for you, whatever you need."

Frost felt tears stinging at her eyes again, and blinked rapidly to beat them back. "Okay."

Ralph started to smile, just slightly. "Everyone'll come around soon. Especially if we bring in _some bakin' soda._ "

Her lips wobbled as she fought back the smallest of smiles at the ridiculous joke. She looked between them and nodded a final time, unable to speak anymore.

"Come on," Cisco said, reaching out to motion her forward. "We're going to get ice cream or alcohol, whichever we see first."

The smile she had been fighting broke through.

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who kept up with this story. I really hope you enjoyed it. I know it doesn't wrap up as neatly as you may like, but I want it to be realistic. I feel like this is such a big thing for Caitlin to do, that the team really would need time to figure out what to do around her. Ralph seemed like he would understand the fastest, so I let him come around immediately. Cisco wouldn't understand her actually killing Cicada, but would definitely be there for her. He just spent the whole story trying to be there for her. I imagine the others bouncing back within a few days. Barry by the next morning, the others a bit more slowly. I didn't want to rush an ending to show everyone being fine again. Just know that, in my head, it does eventually go back to normal.**

 **Please let me know what you thought of the story.**

 **Oh, and so you know: if you like Flash and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I'm writing a crossover now. I don't have a title yet, but I'm working on it a lot, so I should start posting it in a few weeks. I'll put more information on my profile page when it gets closer. Keep an eye out for it.**

 **Thanks again.**

 **Pokémon Fan 98**


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